Jaguars vs. Ravens Week 15: Slay or Bomb

The Jaguars vs. Ravens game was another game in a line of frustrating matchups for the Jaguars. In the Jaguars vs. Ravens week 15 matchup, the Jaguars continued to struggle. Finding new ways to lose, all due to self-inflicted wounds. Missed field goals, turnovers, poor blocking, and bad decisions. A litany of mistakes, against any opponent, let alone one of the best in the NFL, makes for an incredibly challenging matchup.

The team needs a bounce-back game after another disappointing loss. While the Jaguars’ week 16 matchup against the Buccaneers is winnable, the Jaguars’ injury issues and mistake-laden play make any matchup significantly harder than it needs to be.

Before looking ahead, let’s look at the players who stood out from the Jaguars vs. Ravens matchup, and whether they either slayed or bombed.

Jaguars vs. Ravens: Slay

Jamal Agnew

In his first game back from injured reserve, Jamal Agnew was expected to get on the field a lot more than when he had last played. The injury to Christian Kirk necessitated the increased usage of Agnew. With the expectations high, Jamal Agnew delivered.

Jamal Agnew only had two targets on the day, and he caught both. However, one of those receptions was a career-long touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence. Agnew, on a deep ball from Trevor Lawrence, caught a 65-yard touchdown to bring the Jaguars within three points of the Ravens in the third quarter.

A slow offensive start, marred by self-inflicted wounds, made the offensive outlook bleak. But, Agnew got things going for the Jaguars midway through the third quarter.

70 yards on two receptions, and one touchdown. Agnew was far and away the most prolific offensive weapon for the Jaguars in the Jaguars vs. Ravens matchup. While the main cast struggled to help Lawrence move the ball, Agnew had one big play that single-handedly kept the Jaguars in the game after a disastrous first half.

Rayshawn Jenkins

An overall solid defensive performance from the Jaguars was overshadowed by a disastrous offensive performance. The star of the defensive side of the ball is without a doubt, Rayshawn Jenkins. Jenkins had been dealing with injuries in recent weeks and has had to come out of the game multiple times. However, he was healthy and ready to go for the Jaguars vs. Ravens matchup.

Two big plays from Jenkins stand out: his first being an interception of Lamar Jackson on a deep ball, which he managed to return to around midfield. The offense couldn’t get any points afterward thanks to a Lawrence fumble, but Jenkins had already made his impact known.

The next play of note was his sack of Lamar Jackson. In the early stages of the second half of the Jaguars vs. Ravens game, Rayshawn Jenkins came up huge on a third down play and sacked Lamar Jackson. With his sack, he forced a punt and knocked the Ravens out of field goal range. Rayshawn Jenkins had turned the tide once again, and this time the offense scored, returning the favor that Jenkins extended.

At the end of the day, the Jaguars didn’t win. But, the play of Rayshawn Jenkins was incredibly encouraging and is something to pay attention to after Jenkins got off to a slow start in 2023.

Jaguars vs. Ravens: Bomb

Brandon McManus

If there was any indication of how the Jaguars vs. Ravens game would go, it was the second and third drives of the game for the Jaguars offense. After the Ravens got a field goal with their hall-of-fame kicker, the Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus had his chance to kick a field goal and tie the game. From 50 yards out, McManus doinked it off the right upright. A missed opportunity was a sign of things to come.

After the Jaguars’ defense forced a three and out, the Jaguars offense then went on a drive, that didn’t last long but managed to get within McManus’ field goal range. This time, it was borderline out of his range at 55 yards. But, once again, McManus’ kick missed, this time sailing wide left. For the second time in the first quarter of the Jaguars vs. Ravens game, the Jaguars kicker missed a field goal.

When analyzing the outcome of the Jaguars vs. Ravens game, those two field goals being missed set the tone for the Jaguars for the rest of the day. The run game wasn’t clicking, the offense overall was struggling, and multiple more mistakes were made that were back-breaking. But, it all started with back-to-back misses from Brandon McManus.

Trevor Lawrence

Unfortunately, the other most notable bomb of the Jagaurs vs. Ravens matchup was Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence has had an up-and-down season, but most importantly he’s been banged up throughout. Injuries to his legs have been the issue, but after the Jaguars vs. Ravens game, he was placed in concussion protocol. To add insult to injury, Lawrence might’ve played one of the worst games of his career from a mistake perspective.

Trevor Lawrence had 264 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions, on 25 for 43 completions and attempts respectively. Those numbers don’t tell the story whatsoever. After the Jaguars got the ball back thanks to a Rayshawn Jenkins interception, the Jaguars were in comfortable field goal range inside of the Ravens’ red zone.

But, after multiple negative plays, the Jaguars faced third and 17. Lawrence, not finding an open receiver, tucked the ball and ran. However, as he was approaching contact, he lost control of the football, and it fell out of his hands and onto the ground, allowing for an easy fumble recovery. Lawrence fumbled the ball on his own, inside the Ravens 20-yard line. A brutal mistake, and one entirely on Lawrence.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. With little time remaining, down 10, the Jaguars offense had one more chance to drive down the field before the half. A massive 36-yard completion to Zay Jones down to the Baltimore 5-yard line, set the Jaguars up with around 11 seconds left on the clock. A spike would give the Jaguars and Lawrence multiple tries into the endzone. However, Lawrence quickly threw a pass to Parker Washington, who could not get out of bounds and subsequently caused the clock to run out, leaving the Jaguars with no points.

The tale of the game for the Jaguars vs. Ravens game was self-inflicted wounds, and no player caused more injury to himself than Trevor Lawrence. He’s not the only one to blame, but his play was a combination of lackluster and marred by mistakes. Even with the game effectively out of reach, Lawrence fumbled the ball again on a sack. It was the end of the Jaguars’ chances, and also the end to a frustrating, mistake-riddled performance.

Final Thoughts on Jaguars vs. Ravens

One word can describe the Jaguars vs. Ravens game for the Jaguars: Mistakes. Mistakes were made at nearly every possible turn. The defense not being able to get Lamar Jackson down on a would-be sack, which led to a Ravens touchdown. Brandon McManus missed two field goals in the first quarter. The offense sputtered on nearly every drive. Worst of all, Trevor Lawrence got injured further while making so many mistakes.

The Jaguars vs. Ravens matchup is an interesting one on paper and would’ve been a more entertaining game if the Jaguars could find a way to get out of their way. It’s been this way all season with the Jaguars. Mistake after mistake, all leading to frustrating losses. The Jaguars have a good chance to make the playoffs, but if they continue to create new ways to self-sabotage, an AFC South division title might be difficult to acquire.

Overall, this matchup ended with a Ravens win, something I predicted in both my preseason predictions and game preview. But, how the Jaguars lost is the most frustrating. There’s a path to success for the Jaguars, something most teams may not have. But, the injuries and self-inflicted wounds have begun to pile up, and that path to postseason success is becoming muddier by the week.